NFL Preseason - Why Bother?

I know the answer to the question I pose in the title – money.  Money is the only reason anyone bothers with the seemingly endless NFL preseason.  Teams can charge full price for the crappiest examples of football possible.  I can’t imagine more than two are necessary but teams would lose the gate and concession receipts for one home game and one away game.  Money.

As a fan, I tell myself each year not to get drawn in.  I’m so anxious to see some football that I ignore that inner voice every year.  I get comfortable in my favorite recliner, put my feet up, and grab my remote.  Every year, after about five minutes, I’ve had enough and I berate myself for falling for it again.  That teams and networks can promote this ugly version of a great product is beyond me.  That anyone can watch more than a few minutes of it amazes me.  That anyone really cares about these games bewilders me.  I think you are getting the point.  The games are awful.

The league in general seems to approach the games, in normal, non-lockout years, in the same manner.  Game one – maybe the starters play for a series, maybe not.  Game two – the starters will get two to three series, just to find some rhythm (whatever).  Game three – the starters may play the first half, or at least close to it.  Game four – no starters and few second stringers are going to get more than a few snaps.  This last game is for those pretenders who will never get a chance when it counts.  We certainly don’t want anyone important to get it.

Because of the accelerated schedule due to the lockout this season, some teams have expanded the playing time for some of their regulars but it is not significant enough to make anyone care.  Some teams seem to be worse than others.  The Kansas City Chiefs never seem to put much effort into any preseason game and it has been even worse in the Pioli era.  I tend to watch the Royals and turn over to the Chiefs during commercials.  Even a couple minutes at a time can be painful.  Many teams, like the Chiefs, don’t like to show any part of their playbook.  Defenses don’t attack and offenses are just plain vanilla.  It makes for very boring football and that doesn’t even count having to watch a bunch of guys I will never hear from again run around the field, futilely trying to make an impression against the other team’s no-namers.

It’s all about money.  After the Chiefs’ preseason opener against Tampa Bay, in which KC lost 25-0 (and it wasn’t that even that interesting), I heard a season ticket holder blast the Chiefs the next day on talk radio.  He pays $118 a ticket for 4 tickets to see the Chiefs and he has to buy the preseason game at the same price in the season ticket package.  He was railing against the fact coach Todd Haley had mentioned the game was meaningless and didn’t count.  While this is true - the games don’t mean a thing – the team and the league shouldn’t charge full price for these exhibition games.  I could not have agreed with the caller more.  They don’t count.  They are meaningless.  If I’m at home, I can turn the channel.  Why charge full price for these preseason games on the season ticket package?  Simply answered – because they can.

Despite the fact they league just ended a PR nightmarish lockout, despite the fact the teams, players, and league make millions of dollars in an economy where people struggle to find jobs, despite the possibility there may be more games blacked out in 2011 than any previous year – despite all this, teams feel the need to line their coffers with just a bit more of their fans’ hard earned money by charging them full price for a shoddy product.  Businesses do not charge the same price for generic products as they do for name products.  Why does the NFL?  Because they can.

It is so unnecessary.  The teams don’t need to pound their season ticket holders.  They could sell their exhibition games at a discount.  They could reduce the number of worthless, painful to watch preseason games from 4 to 2.  They choose not to.  And I am not a proponent of an 18-game schedule either.  Just shrink the preseason a couple of games.  Start camp later or the season earlier.  How about starting the season a week earlier and give every team 2 off weeks? 

With the new CBA in place, nothing new will take place.  We as fans are just stuck with boring, worthless, football for a full month.  What a waste of time.  I am ready for some football but preseason just doesn’t cut it.  Settle in.  We still have two more weeks to go. 

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